Newlywed Roommate (ABO) - Chapter 1

“Take off your clothes.”

Those were the first words the Alpha spoke.

An Chun had just stepped into the “New Wedding Suite” provided by the Human Federation Government for Category II couples. Looking up, he saw his Alpha husband sitting lazily on the sofa. The man was tall and well-built with lean muscles, watching him with a faint, unreadable smile that felt like a mockery.

“Put them there.”

The Alpha tilted his chin slightly, gesturing for An Chun to strip naked and place his belongings in the laundry basket by the door.

Draped over the edge of that basket was a collar—resembling a dog’s leash—with An Chun’s name engraved on it.

The Alpha wanted him to stand there bare, put on the collar, and crawl over like a dog.

An Chun’s face turned deathly pale. His fingers trembled uncontrollably, yet he had no choice but to begin shedding his clothes, piece by piece.

He couldn’t refuse.

Because his husband was Xiang Zhiqing.

The notorious Xiang Zhiqing. The man who had allegedly toyed with and killed three Omega lovers. The man whose abuse videos had been fully leaked to the public, yet who had ultimately been acquitted of all charges.

An Chun’s marriage to Xiang Zhiqing was the result of a frame-up.

A month ago, when the news of the Xiang family’s second son brutalizing an Omega lover to death exploded across the net, An Chun was merely an ordinary high school graduate.

To save up for his university tuition and living expenses, he worked as a cleaner at the city’s largest entertainment club, earning a handsome salary of eight thousand credits a month.

Because the pay was so high, his duties were varied and messy. They included, but were not limited to, scrubbing restrooms, clearing private booths, and cleaning up shattered glass or vomit left behind by drunken patrons. An Chun worked diligently and cautiously. He always wore an oversized black uniform, a hat, and a mask, and carried a specialized restroom incense to mask his Omega scent entirely. He was a silent, invisible cleaning symbol, never drawing anyone’s attention.

That was until the day he ran into Lin Yumiao—his legal brother, the biological son of his foster parents.

Lin Yumiao was only three months older than An Chun. He was also eighteen and had just recently differentiated as an Omega.

When An Chun encountered him, Lin Yumiao was clinging intimately to an Alpha’s chest, his breath smelling of alcohol.

After confirming that Lin Yumiao wasn’t completely wasted and wasn’t being coerced, An Chun lowered his head, quietly swept up the glass shards, and prepared to leave.

But at the exact moment he stood up, Lin Yumiao grabbed him and ripped off his mask, demanding drunkenly, “An Chun? What are you doing here?!”

An Chun’s face was exposed under the hazy, ambiguous lights of the booth. The Alpha beside Lin Yumiao narrowed his eyes.

And so, the nightmare began.

Lin Yumiao’s Alpha began a wealthy man’s game of pursuing An Chun.

Lin Yumiao, in turn, began to harbor a bone-deep hatred for him.

An Chun quit his high-paying job at the club, blacklisted the Alpha’s calls on his terminal, and refused every bouquet of roses sent his way. Under Lin Yumiao’s targeted harassment, he even moved out of his foster parents’ house and rented a cramped, dilapidated basement.

He stocked up on nutrient solutions, bolted the door, and stayed inside. Every day, he searched the StarNet for small ways to make money, praying every night that the Alpha young master would lose interest in him.

An Chun didn’t stay in that basement for long.

Seven days in, the roses stopped appearing at his door.

Ten days in, the terminal stopped receiving calls from unknown numbers.

Thirteen days in, his foster parents contacted him. They claimed they had received his university admission letter and asked to meet so he could collect it and officially dissolve their foster relationship.

An Chun agreed.

“We raised you until adulthood. By right, you should be taking care of us in our old age,” his foster mother said as they sat in a private restaurant booth. “But you stole Miao Miao’s boyfriend. Miao Miao refuses to see you again and insisted we cut ties with you.”

An Chun twitched his lips. He didn’t bother telling them that even without him, it was unlikely Lin Yumiao would have lasted with that “boyfriend”—before he blocked all calls, he had received a series of vicious, mocking messages from the Alpha’s actual fiancée.

“Cutting ties is fine,” his foster father said deeply, “but you must sign a promissory note. You have to pay us back for everything we spent raising you. At least one million!”

An Chun put down his soup bowl and spoke slowly, “I can do that.”

The foster parents looked delighted.

“But,” An Chun continued, “you must also return everything my biological parents left for me. The villa you live in, my parents’ accidental death insurance payout, and all the savings they left behind.”

Their expressions shifted instantly.

An Chun lowered his head and continued drinking his soup.

Having lived on nutrient solutions for half a month, this soup was the only thing on the table his stomach could handle. What a waste. His foster parents certainly wouldn’t pay the bill, so the cost of this meal would likely fall on him.

His foster mother began to protest, “You ungrateful brat, what nonsense are you talking?! Your parents didn’t have any savings. You know that. You differentiated early at five years old and were diagnosed with a terminal illness right after! Your parents spent every cent trying to cure you! The villa… they sold that to us a long time ago. And the insurance? That was barely anything, it’s all gone from your medical bills…”

Lies.

An Chun watched them quietly.

He had differentiated as an Omega at age five, and shortly after, he was diagnosed with a rare Genetic and Glandular Deficiency Syndrome.

The condition was extremely rare, and every doctor on Planet Agate had been powerless to treat it.

When he was seven, his parents—unable to take him on long journeys due to his health—left him in the care of their best friends, his current foster parents, while they traveled to other planets to seek a cure.

…Then the starship crashed. They never came back.

At the funeral, he had accidentally overheard his foster parents talking. He learned the estate his parents left behind was worth tens of millions.

He was too young then to understand what that meant. He only remembered that his foster parents spoke in low voices, yet their smiles were incredibly bright. They held hands, their cheeks flushed with excitement. In his memory, in the corner of that black-and-white funeral hall, there remained a stinging, indelible smear of red.

Since his parents passed away, his foster parents had never once taken him to a hospital.

…

Under his silent gaze, the foster mother’s voice grew smaller until it vanished completely.

She looked away and took a sip of tea, regaining her volume a moment later. “Regardless, if you want to dissolve the relationship, you sign that note. Otherwise, forget about getting your admission letter!”

An Chun suddenly decided he wasn’t going to pay for this lunch. He stood up. “Not having the physical letter won’t stop me from attending university. Instead of trying to scam money out of me, you should give up gambling. The assets my parents left should have been enough for you to squander for a lifetime.”

The foster parents had picked up a gambling habit in recent years. Last year, An Chun accidentally discovered they had already burned through his parents’ fortune, leaving only five figures… He wondered if the villa was even still in their names.

An Chun turned away, no longer wishing to look at those two loathsome faces.

He walked to the booth door and pulled it open.

A dark shadow suddenly rushed in from outside, spraying a mist directly into his face.

In the final second before losing consciousness, An Chun saw Lin Yumiao’s distorted, furious face.

Besides causing him to differentiate early and making him unable to accurately release or receive pheromones, his Genetic and Glandular Deficiency Syndrome brought many complications to his life.

First, he was allergic to various foods, items, and pollen.

Second, he suffered from periodic “episodes.”

The episodes were unpredictable. Sometimes they were triggered by allergies, other times they happened suddenly in his sleep.

What scared An Chun most was that he never knew what his symptoms were during an episode.

While his parents were alive, he never had one.

After they died, he had experienced three episodes, all while at his foster parents’ home.

Each time an episode ended, his throat would feel dry and his physical location would have shifted. When he asked his foster parents about his symptoms, he only ever got vague, shifty answers. When he asked Lin Yumiao, he was met with a strange, mocking expression.

“An Chun, you’re really fun when you’re having an episode.”

That was the only thing Lin Yumiao ever told him.

An Chun had another episode.

This one was triggered by an allergic reaction.

The allergen was the seafood juice Lin Yumiao had sprayed in his face.

Unlike previous times, he finally learned what he did during these episodes.

“I am here to apply for a Category II marriage. These are my documents.”

…

“I am certain.”

…

“I understand.”

“I have not consumed alcohol, and I am of sound mind.”

“I am doing this voluntarily. Please process it as quickly as possible.”

…

“I, An Chun, male Omega, eighteen years of age, voluntarily apply for a Category II marriage. I swear to fully follow the pheromone matching system of the Light Brain and enter into marriage with my most compatible Alpha. I will commit myself to the Federation’s population development and contribute to the quality of the Federation’s AO population. Whether my partner is poor or wealthy, handsome or ugly, healthy or disabled, I will steadfastly accept him, be loyal to him, bear his children, and spend the rest of my life with him.”

…

“I do not want the 2,000 credit monthly allowance. I want to withdraw the Category II marriage incentive as a lump sum. Please transfer the 500,000 credits to this account.”

…

Agate Planet, Du City, Marriage Management Bureau Appeal Center.

An Chun watched the surveillance playback of his application from the previous day over and over again, his face growing whiter with every second.

“I wasn’t conscious at the time,” An Chun’s voice was hoarse and trembling. “I have Genetic and Glandular Deficiency Syndrome. I had an episode yesterday. My symptom is likely the unconscious repetition of other people’s words… Look, in the video, I’m in a wheelchair wearing headphones. Every time your staff asks a question, I pause for a while before answering… Look at this person behind me—he’s my legal brother. He’s the reason I had the episode. Every time you asked and I paused, he was typing on his terminal… The text he typed was converted to audio and sent to my headphones, which I then repeated to form my answers.”

The staff members looked at each other. “We’ve never heard of such a strange illness.”

An Chun: “My condition is very rare. I’m the only case on Planet Agate.”

Another staff member stepped forward. “Can you provide medical certification? Can your records prove these specific symptoms? Even if you can, how can we be sure you weren’t colluding with your family to scam the government out of the incentive money? To be blunt, sir, Population Bureau records show your parents and brother have already left Planet Agate with the funds. Our Marriage Bureau has no precedent for canceling a marriage application without the return of the incentive grant. If you have any objections, we suggest you report it to the police. If you cannot provide valid proof to revoke the marriage, you will be required to pay a penalty of ten times the amount.”

An Chun fell silent.

Then, he nodded and left.

Next, he went to the police station.

The officers were dismissive and refused to open a case.

“Won’t you even investigate?” An Chun asked hoarsely. “Even if you don’t believe I had an illness-induced episode, it is a fact that Lin Yumiao attacked me with seafood juice knowing I was allergic, causing me to pass out. Isn’t that enough to file a report?”

After a moment of silence, an officer looked up from a computer. “We contacted the restaurant you mentioned. They said their surveillance was broken yesterday and can’t provide any evidence.”

An Chun went quiet.

He felt a chill seeping through his entire body.

He turned and left the station.

As he walked out of the police station doors, An Chun noticed snowflakes landing on his shoulders.

He looked up, realizing the snow season on Planet Agate had begun.

Ding-dong.

His terminal received a message.

It was from his basement landlord.

The landlord said he had received notice that An Chun’s marital status had changed. Since any Omega who applied for a Category II marriage lost the right to independent housing, their rental agreement was automatically terminated. The deposit would not be refunded.

Ding-dong.

A second message arrived.

This one was from the Marriage Management Center.

The notification stated that his Category II marriage match was complete. It advised him to immediately head to the “Hope Housing” provided for free by the government. Failing to arrive at the wedding suite by midnight tonight would be considered “marriage evasion,” and government personnel would take compulsory measures.

At the end of the message was an attachment containing his partner’s personal information.

With a blank mind, An Chun tapped it open.

He saw a name—Xiang Zhiqing.

Ha!

Xiang Zhiqing!

A name that rang like thunder!

When An Chun was a cleaner at the club, he had heard that name countless times.

“Xiang Zhiqing toyed another Omega to death…”

“I wouldn’t go even if they paid me a fortune…”

“Tsk, tsk, I know someone who accompanied him. Three days and three nights, and they went straight to the ICU. Fractured pelvis, displaced internal organs, not a single patch of good skin left, the collar was choked right into the flesh… such suffering…”

“He’s the second young master of the Xiang family… of course he won’t get caught…”

“He was acquitted. I heard he makes them sign agreements before he plays with them…”

“Is Xiang… on something? I saw him last time, he looked a bit off…”

…

“The video of Xiang Zhiqing abusing an Omega to death was leaked!”

“It’s trending! It’s finally trending!!”

“Damn! The Xiang family released a statement saying they’ve cut ties with Xiang Zhiqing, revoked all assets in his name, and will no longer provide financial support!!!”

…

“…Huh? Xiang Zhiqing applied for a Category II marriage? And he got assigned a Hope House… No way, is he really willing to become a breeding pig?”

“What else can he do? He was about to sleep under a bridge, you think he cares? Snow season is coming, he’d freeze to death without a place to stay… At least a Category II marriage guarantees food and shelter. I actually feel sorry for the Omega who matched with him…”

“Why feel sorry? Anyone who applies for Category II marriage isn’t exactly high-quality. Maybe the Omega who matched with him is trash, too!”

“I guess you’re right…”

Ha.

Xiang Zhiqing.

An Chun gripped his terminal, feeling every organ in his abdomen spasm with pain.

“Hey…”

A voice came from behind him.

An Chun turned to see a very young police officer wearing a mask.

The young officer looked at him, his gaze somewhat flickering. “That… did you offend some big shot?”

Snow had settled on An Chun’s eyelashes. His gaze was hollow, showing no reaction.

The young officer scratched his head and leaned in, whispering, “I heard that someone reached out to our superiors to tell us not to handle your case… before you even got here. And… your foster parents left the planet last night. That time slot is only open to private flight routes.”

An Chun froze.

The snow fell from his lashes.

The young officer opened his mouth, left a quick “Think about who you pissed off,” and ran back inside.

An Chun stood in the snow for ten minutes. With frozen, stiff fingers, he pulled a certain communication number out of his blacklist.

Three minutes later.

An Chun received his third message of the day.

Huo Yuan: [Have you made up your mind? Me, or Xiang Zhiqing?]

Huo Yuan. Lin Yumiao’s ex-boyfriend, and the same Alpha who had crazily pursued him half a month ago despite having both a fiancée and a boyfriend.

An Chun’s finger hovered over the terminal, unmoving.

The penthouse suite of the Mandragora Hotel.

Dressed in a bathrobe and lazily swirling a wine glass, Huo Yuan was watching a holographic projection with great interest.

The projection was from a surveillance angle, but it perfectly captured the slender waist and pale, beautiful face of the Omega standing in the snow outside the police station.

Truly beautiful.

The Omega’s face was already as white as the snow. His delicate fingers hovered over the terminal, trembling slightly. The whole person looked like a magnolia blossom standing in a blizzard.

Clean, beautiful, and inviting to be broken.

Huo Yuan squinted and took a sip of red wine.

He felt there was no need to wait any longer. After all, everyone knew what choice to make.

He happily sent a message.

Huo Yuan: [Mandragora Hotel penthouse suite, now.]

The Omega in the surveillance footage finally moved.

An Chun replied to Huo Yuan’s message for the first time.

Huo Yuan smiled nonchalantly and opened the message.

The smile froze on his face.

An Chun: [Scumbag.]